Nokia 2012 Annual Report Download - page 178

In July 2011, IDT filed another complaint against Nokia and others with the ITC alleging infringement of
seven declared essential WCDMA patents, amending the complaint later to add another
co-respondent. The same seven patents were also asserted against Nokia in a parallel case in the
United States District Court for the District of Delaware. The Delaware case is stayed pending
resolution of the ITC action. Through its second ITC action, IDT is seeking to exclude certain of our
WCDMA and CDMA2000 devices from importation and sale in the United States. The target date for
completion of the ITC investigation is currently set for October 28, 2013.
In January 2013, IDT filed a third complaint against Nokia with the ITC alleging infringement of a single
declared essential UMTS and LTE patent, and also filed a parallel case asserting the same patent in
the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. Through its third ITC action, IDT is seeking
to exclude certain of our WCDMA, CDMA2000, and LTE devices from importation and sale in the
United States.
We believe that the allegations of IDT described above are without merit and we intend to pursue all
available defenses and legal options in this matter.
IPCom
From December 2007 onwards, IPCom filed actions against Nokia and members of the Nokia
Leadership Team in Mannheim and Düsseldorf, Germany, claiming infringement of 17 patents and two
utility models. All of these reached trial at first instance, and a number were appealed. Nokia
responded by filing nullity actions in the German Patents Court and oppositions before the German and
European Patent Office (“GPTO” and “EPO”) in relation to these patents, utility models, and other
patents included in IPCom’s list of patents. To date, all of IPCom’s patents and utility models that have
reached trial were found to be invalid and/or not infringed, except for two patents of the same family
(so called #100a and #100DE), which were found to be infringed by certain Nokia products. However,
in the meantime, the EPO found #100a to be invalid (currently on appeal). The decision on the validity
of the #100DE patent has not been reached yet. We will pursue all of our appeal rights.
Since September 2008, Nokia commenced revocation proceedings in England against 30 of IPCom’s
UK patents. IPCom responded by bringing infringement actions in relation to some of the patents in
issue. On January 18, 2010, the two IPCom patents that were subject to the first trial were found to be
invalid. IPCom appealed this ruling. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal in relation to both.
IPCom conceded that 23 of its other patents should be revoked in the UK. Three cases remain
on-going at first instance. In one case (#100a, the parallel to Germany) certain of Nokia’s older devices
were found to have infringed an IPCom patent, but the court ruled that Nokia’s devices currently on the
market do not infringe. IPCom requested an injunction, but due to concerns expressed by the court,
IPCom changed the request to fix a FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) royalty for this
patent. The hearing is due to take place in July 2013.
In Italy, IPCom filed criminal complaints against Nokia and some Nokia individuals for allegedly
infringing IPCom patents. IPCom requested seizures of Nokia devices. The complaints were
consolidated in Milan, and the Milan court dismissed the complaints on January 26, 2012. We have
claimed compensation for the wrongful attempts at product seizure and criminal complaints in the Milan
Court, and sought findings of invalidity and non-infringement of some of the asserted patents. Those
cases are on-going.
Since IPCom filed its first action against Nokia, 60 IPCom patents have been found invalid as granted
or conceded by IPCom. We believe that the allegations of IPCom described above are without merit,
and we will continue to defend ourselves against these actions.
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